


Blame the Ice Cream

by Preeshera



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien my son you are a dumb blond sometimes, Adrinette, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Marichat, Oblivious!Adrien, Thought you should know, author does not know what she's doing, but only slight AU, post Glaciator, seriously, slight angst? if you squint?, sweet Chat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 18:53:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13370988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Preeshera/pseuds/Preeshera
Summary: In which Adrien has an epiphany, Chat is a sweetheart, and Marinette cannot stop crying.





	Blame the Ice Cream

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my very first ML fanfiction, and I honestly wasn't going to post it, but https://talathemidget.tumblr.com/ is super encouraging, so ... here you go? I hope you like it?
> 
> Also, if you wanna gush/scream/rant about ML or anything fandom related, feel free to catch me on tumblr http://preeshera.tumblr.com/
> 
> Cheers

Marinette’s eyes widened almost comically when she came face to face with Adrien.

“Oh, hello Mari!” he said cheerfully, still overexcited about his Ladybug ice cream. It was a sign, he was sure.

His classmate stammered a reply he couldn’t really understand and Adrien’s smile wavered a bit. He had hoped she’d warm up to him once Nino and Alya started going out, but alas. He sighed. Then he spotted the cone in her hands.

“Hey, you’ve got the magic ice cream as well,” he pointed out happily.

“M-magic?”

“Well, it’s supposed to represent your true love, no? If you believe that stuff, of course.”

Marinette went beet red, but the boy didn’t notice. He hummed happily at his red-and-black icy treat and dug in. He only turned towards Marinette once the silence had stretched between them.

“Do you?” he tried again.

“Wha- What?” the girl was giving him a strange look. It bothered him a bit, how she seemed to dislike him still, even though she was so nice to everyone else in their class. Well, except for Chloé.

“Do you believe it, the ice cream magic?”

Marinette gulped audibly and looked down at her cone. Adrien, too, gave it a quizzical look, noting the soft, subdued colors of it. Hmmmm. Strange, he wondered, it seemed a bit familiar.

Maybe it represented someone from their class?

He wrecked his brain but couldn’t think of anyone.

“I- I have to go!” Marinette stammered and before he had a chance to respond, she was gone.

Adrien sighed again. Shame. Well, at least he still had his ice cream.

 

Marinette was laid across her bed, sobbing miserably. Her tiny red companion buzzed around her with a tissue box, but to no avail. The girl was inconsolable.

“Mari, please, talk to me. What is it?” Tikki tried and got a watery look of tired red eyes for her trouble.

“I can’t Tikki. How can I do this?”

“Do this…? Do what? Who made you so upset?”

“Adrien.” Marinette spoke quietly. “Adrien is in love with Ladybug.”

Tikki froze, but then started fluttering excitedly around Marinette’s head.

“But why are you crying! Marinette, that’s amazing! The boy you like is in love with you and –"

“No. No, he isn’t, Tikki!” The harsh tone froze the small kwami on the spot.

“But –” “No buts! He loves Ladybug. Ladybug, not Marinette. A superhero. Cool, powerful, miraculous Ladybug.”

And the tears were back full force. Tikki’s heart broke a little with every single sob.

Then Marinette shot up from her bed and ran stomping up the stairs to her little rooftop balcony, sketchpad in hand – and Tikki for once knew better then to follow.

Marinette curled herself in a nest of blankets, sniffling and wiped at her cheeks to stop the tears, but they just kept coming. She spread her drawing supplies around her and opened her sketchpad. More sobs rattled her as she saw the last picture she drew. A Chat Noir and Ladybug inspired winter design. Heavy tears fell down onto the page and smudged the red ink. Marinette felt like tearing the page up, new wave of rage and sadness came over her at the sight of the spotted red design.

“Oh Princess, Princess, why are you trying to drown the city on an evening as lovely as this one?”

A clawed hand wiped her wet cheek gently and she looked up to see a soft smile on her friend’s masked face.

“Oh Chaton,” she wobbled, fresh tears streaming from her eyes and the superhero looked as panic-stricken as if he were faced with the scariest of akumas.

“Mari, no, no, don’t cry! I am cat-astrophic at consoling crying Princesses.”

She hiccupped with a small watery laugh at his godawful pun, but the tears didn’t stop.

“Is there a villain I need to hunt down?” Chat asked, theatrically angry.

Marinette just shook her head.

“What is it then, Princess? Do you want to talk about it?”

She sighed.

“No. Not really, chaton. Thanks for coming by, though.” She wiped at her cheeks, drawing a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. “I’ll be okay. I have some work to finish though, so, well. Keep Paris safe for me?”

He still gave her a worried look, but didn’t push. With a mock-salute and a swish of his trusty baton, he was gone.

 

“Man, I know your dad is a slave driver, but that was seriously uncool, the other day.” Nino was waving his hands around and Adrien took a preemptive step back, just in case.

“I told you I was sorry, Nino. I really wanted to hang out with you.”

“Oh man.” Nino groaned. “This isn’t about me! You should have seen Marinette. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so disappointed.”

_What?_

“What?”

Nino’s eyebrows shot up comically high.

“What do you mean _what_?! Man, you cannot be this dense.”

Adrien scrunched his face, dumbfounded. What was this, the twilight zone? If anything, he would have thought Marinette would be _glad_ he wasn’t around.

He told his friend as much, and Nino facepalmed.

“Agreste, my dude, I love you, but you are the dumbest smart kid I ever met.” Nino exclaimed. “That girl has been head over heels in love with you since we started Lycée.”

Adrien’s eyes went round as saucers. Then, for some strange, unfathomable reason, his mind flashed back to day before. The sad look when he – Adrien – met her near the bridge. The familiar colors of her ice cream cone. The wrecked, teary look she gave him, as Chat, in her little rooftop sanctuary.

“No. No she doesn’t.”

But he knew that wasn’t true.

Nino gave him a pitying look.

“Look man, I know you don’t feel the same, but maybe you should just put her out of her misery, like, gently? I don’t want Alya to kill me.”

He didn’t feel the same. He had Ladybug.

Yet, his mind helpfully supplied the image of bloodshed, dazed, bluebell eyes and his heart clenched painfully. Then, as if in some horrible involuntary cinema, a picture after picture of Ladybug, rejecting him. Ladybug, telling him they needed to keep their identities secret. Ladybug, not showing up, even as he blew out that one last candle. And then, Marinette again, weeping her eyes out, just as he had wanted on that night.

He reeled. It was him, last night. Him who made her cry so badly.

Well, Ladybug or no, Marinette was his friend and she didn’t deserve this. His mind jumped again to his unfulfilled rooftop date with Ladybug. No. Mari deserved better.

Nino was left behind in startled silence as Adrien Agreste marched into the classroom with purpose in his steps. He shot down Chloé and her usual chatter, and walked right up to Marinette.

She was sitting dejectedly in her usual spot, eyes still red even under the layer of concealer, and he balked. No, he owed her this.

“Hey Mari, I am sorry about missing out the ice cream the other day.” He rattled out fast, before he could chicken out. “I thought, if you wanted, maybe we could grab some together, after school?”

Alya let out a strangled, startled shriek – but quickly shut a hand over her mouth.

Marinette just gave him a strange look, a sad one, and he didn’t really understand, but then she spoke and gosh, he felt like such a dickhead for not noticing sooner.

“Look Adrien, you really don’t have to –”

“And if I want to?”

Part of him was screaming to stop, but other part, the part that usually laid dormant without Chat’s veil of anonymity, was egging him on.

“You, you do?” She squeaked and he grinned.

“Only if you don’t mind.”

 

“Girl, you have to tell me what you did!” Alya shrieked and shook Marinette by the shoulders. They were in the relative safety of girls’ lavatory, but Mari still cast a nervous look around.

“But I didn’t. I mean, I didn’t do anything. And I told you – it’s not like you think. He doesn’t like me. He likes Ladybug!”

“Ladybug-shladybug,” Alya scoffed, “it’s you who’s been his friend since he came here! You who gave him that nice present. You who supported him. What did Ladybug do?”

“Saved Paris?”

Alya glared at her.

“Big deal. You are a hundred, no, a thousand times better than some untouchable superhero. Sure, she is awesome, but god knows what she’s like in real life. Take away her superpowers and what’s so special about her?”

Marinette deflated.

“Exactly.”

“That’s what I said, girl!” Alya exclaimed, missing Mari’s crestfallen look.

“Now chin up and dazzle on, you’ve got a date with Adrien!”

“It’s not a –”

“Did I ask you a question? No, I didn’t! Now chop, chop, I feel a horrible headache coming on suddenly and you are going to escort me home.”

“What?”

“We are skipping, girl. I am _not_ letting you go on your first date in that outfit.”

“But what’s wrong with my…” the rest of her sentence, however, was lost, as Alya dragged her out of the bathroom and into the corridors.

 

Adrien’s palms were sweaty. Sure, this was just Marinette, but, well.

He, well, to be perfectly honest, he had never gone out on a date with a girl. Alone. Unless you count Chloé, which, thank you very much, he didn’t. After you’ve seen someone streaking down the corridor of Grand Paris stark naked at five years - old to annoy her father; well you just cannot count her into the dating category without giving yourself a whiplash.

But back to present. Plagg cackled unhelpfully from his bag as Adrien paced in front of the small Patisserie Marinette’s parents owned. She should be down any minute now and he was NOT ready.

Oh boy.

What was he thinking.

He was in love with Ladybug.

And Marinette was his friend. His very pretty friend, his brain supplied unhelpfully. Whom he unintentionally hurt. Yeah. Breathe, Adrien, he kicked himself mentally. Just _breathe_.

“Adrien?”

He turned around and only just held in a gasp.

Mari stood at the door, dressed to the nines. The model in him instantly regretted not having put on something much nicer in the morning, because whoa, did she look stunning!

Bright red platform heels made her legs look enticingly long. The pure white summer dress ended just above her knees and fluttered lightly in the wind. Adrien gulped when he noticed how nicely it contrasted with her tan shoulders and brought forward the scattering of freckles there. He kinda wanted to lick them WHAT? Abort mission, abort, abort! Focus, Adrien. He tried, really. But then his eyes fell on the blood red ribbon that cinched her tiny waist and it reminded him, painfully, of Ladybug. All thought of his lady vanished from his mind the moment he met Marinette’s sad blue eyes. Scratch that. All thought vanished from his mind, period.

Adrien cleared his throat nervously.

“Hi Marinette. Eh. I. Are, are you ready.”

“Sure.” He could hear the unease in her voice and he straightened up, bracing himself for the words he needed to tell.

“Look Mari, I –”

“I know you like Ladybug.” Marinette blurted out and he stared.

“What?”

“I, uh, I, that is, I know. I know you, I know that you are in love with Ladybug.”

Adrien flushed bright red at the intense look she was giving him.

He faintly wished back for the times she wouldn’t meet his eye.

“That, well, that’s true but…I, well.”

“You don’t have to take me out just because of Nino and Alya. Really. I was a bit disappointed you couldn’t make it, but. I. It’s okay now. No big deal.”

He looked away before she did, so he didn’t see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Still, he knew she was lying.

And then, she delivered the final blow, with a fake, watery giggle.

“It’s not like I can measure up to someone like Ladybug.”

She wiped at her eyes and breathed in sharply.

“I am sorry Adrien. You know what, I think this was a bad idea. I, I remembered I have to help dad in the bakery, and…”

He grabbed her arm before she could move away.

“You are not being fair to yourself. I mean. You are right, I well. It’s embarrassing, really, my crush on Ladybug. It’s not like I actually know her.” Not exactly true, but Marinette didn’t need to know about his mess of a double life.

“And you are amazing, Marinette. You are so nice to everyone, and brave, and talented. And I am very happy you are my friend. That’s why I invited you today. I thought, well,” he blushed and froze. What did he think. What was he thinking.

“I thought we could just hang out. As friends. If you want to. And maybe,” Maybe what Adrien? _Maybe what, Adrien?!_ His mind screamed in a voice too much like Alya’s.

“Maybe what?” Marinette whispered, staring at him.

“Maybe Ladybug isn’t the only one I like.”

 

**_Ice cream, Marinette thought, has never tasted quite as good as on that day._ **

 

**Author's Note:**

> (Agreste, you did WHAT?!!!)  
>  ~~Please don’t kill me~~


End file.
